Pakistan summons Indian envoy over alleged ceasefire violations on LoC

Islamabad, Oct 2: Pakistan summoned India's deputy high commissioner over the alleged ceasefire violations by the Indian troops along the Line of Control (LoC).

The Foreign Office, in a statement, alleged that Indian forces resorted to firing in Rukh Chakri and Rawalakot Sectors on September 30 and October 2, killing three civilians and injuring five others, including a woman. Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohmmad Faisal summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh and "condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian forces, it said.

Faisal claimed that it was the fifth ceasefire violation by the Indian forces in the past twelve days that killed 11 civilians, including five women, and injured 37 others. He said despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations.

"The deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws. The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation," he said. Faisal said that the Indian side should permit UNMOGIP to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.

India maintains that the UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control. Pakistan claimed that Indian forces have carried out more than 900 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary this year, which have resulted in the deaths of 43 civilians and injuries to 153, as compared to 382 ceasefire violations in 2016.

Meanwhile, a senior Indian government official said two minors were killed today and 12 civilians injured in cross- border shelling by Pakistan along the LoC in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. Five children were among the injured, the youngest being five-year-old Zobia Kousar who was airlifted to a hospital in Jammu in a helicopter.

PTI